


The Golden Trio of Beacon Hills (Scott, Stiles, and Theo)

by openmindedcranberry



Series: Starting Differently [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Bullying, Dread Doctors - Freeform, Fluffy Angst, Gen, Gore, Graphic depictions of violence - Freeform, Hurt Scott, Hurt Stiles, Hurt Theo Raeken, Hurt!Stiles, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Medical Torture, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Redemption, Scott is still a werewolf, Teen Wolf AU, Theo Gets Therapy, Theo is good, Therapy, This isn't too much of an AU, awful writing style, bullied!stiles, but still kind of a psychopath, chimera!Theo, eventually, growing up fic, magical!Stiles, school fights, slow-build, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-02-06 01:24:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12806544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/openmindedcranberry/pseuds/openmindedcranberry
Summary: Stiles, Scott, and Theo met in the first grade and became the best of friends instantly. The boys grow up, dealing with Stiles' mom's sickness, Scott's absent father, and Theo's own cold parents and nightmares. They quickly find the monsters from Theo's dreams are real, that everything they previously thought to be make-believe and pretend walk on the same earth, and breathe the same air they do.





	1. Prologue

Fall was coming quickly to Beacon Hills, California. Already there was a chillier nip in the air as leaves began to change color, curling up in death and falling to the ground to be raked into piles or trampled underfoot. The school year had come too quickly, to the misfortune of the town’s children and teens, and to the quiet relief of their parents. And yet, despite the cool crisp air and the muggy gray skies, three boys found themselves on the playground together after school one October evening, stubbornly digging and picking through the sandbox, fingers gloved and ungloved finding the cold, damp sand perfectly malleable to their every whim. They erected their own separate villages with forests of wood chips and twigs, bottle cap swimming pools, and houses with crumbling leaves for rooftops.

“I’m Scott,” introduced the tan-skinned child with an unruly mop of brown hair, gray fingerless gloves caked in damp sand and crispy leaf crumbs. His village was neat and proud, overflowing with an extraordinary amount of twigs and wood chips, roads carved into the dirt were winding and intricate. He was shoveling sand into a green pail with his hands, working on making himself a castle.

“Mie - Mischief. Never mind. Just call me Stiles. I’m new this year!” explained the pale, mole-covered, gap-toothed boy with a buzzcut, nearly knocking over his own towers of sand. His own sand village-city was sprawling over nearly half the sand box, wood chips lined up around houses to create picket fences and yards with trees and pebble gardens and bottle cap pools. “My dad got a job at the station, so we all moved. He’s a deputy. It’s me, him, and mom. Plus, the hospital here is better than the one back home. That’s what my mom said.”

“Oh, my mom works there! She’s a nurse.” Scott declared proudly. “I think I might do that when I’m older. She gets to help a lot of people and she loves her job. I want to do something where I help people, too. Or maybe animals.” His pail was full, and he was turning it over too slowly, losing half of it on top of a few of Stiles’ houses. “Sorry!”

“Nah, it’s fine. That’s one way to control overpopulation,” Stiles snickered, helping Scott refill his pail.

“Theo,” the third boy said quietly. He was taller and ganglier than the other boys with a shock of blonde hair on top his head, dirty from running nervous sandy fingers through it. He sat back on his knees, watching the two of them work together. His own village was rather small in comparison to the other two boys’. Most of it was taken up by a large castle-mound, the unfortunate product of sand-building without any tools. Taller mounds had twigs stuck out of them. Woodchips were lined up in a neat grid behind the castle-mound. “We all have class together.”

“Wait, so you guys’ are in Mrs. Burns first grade class too?” Stiles asked, starting on the repair of his village while Scott successfully created a neat little castle. The other boys nodded, and there was a brief moment of companionable silence while each boy expanded their villages.

“So, do you guys have a best friend?” Stiles piped up suddenly. “My best friend’s name is Heather, except she’s from my old town and we don’t really see each other anymore, so maybe she isn’t? We talk on the phone every once in awhile but it’s really not the same anymore. Plus, she’s got a new friend named Caitlin, which is totally fine! Like, of course I want her to have friends! I don’t want her to be alone and sad... But sometimes I really wish she could have came with me and we could have still been best friends here.”

“What was the question?” Scott asked, and Theo snorted.

Stiles flushed, “Do you have a best friend?”

“No,” Theo said shortly.

“I guess my mom?” Scott said, “Does she count?”

“I don’t know. Why would you say she’s your best friend?” Stiles asked, moving his bottle cap pool to a bigger yard.

“Well, dad left and she didn’t,” Scott said with a shrug. “It’s just me and her now. She says she’ll always be there for me when she can, and she always has, I think. She would always make it to school events and sometimes she would find a way to come when she didn’t think she would be able to, and dad would always say he would but would hardly ever.” Scott’s eyebrows furrowed as he thought a little more about the relationship with his parents, “She’s really nice to me, and if I do something wrong, we talk about it and she tells me why it was wrong. Dad would just yell. Plus, it was my birthday not too long ago and she said I couldn’t get an ice cream cake from the store, but she made cupcakes instead so I could take them to school.”

“Oh, I remember that,” Stiles said, grinning, “Those were good cupcakes!”

“Happy birthday,” Theo said quietly, straightening his woodchips. 

“I think your mom can be your best friend because she makes good cupcakes and everything else you said she does for you,” Stiles said, “Like automatically our parents are our friends, I guess. But do you have a best friend from our class?”

“No,” Scott said, “I guess not.”

“Why should our parents automatically be our friends?” Theo asked, fingers carving roads deeper and deeper, sand cracking and crumbling and falling into the dry and dusty ravines he was creating. He quickly smoothed it over, starting over more carefully.

“I don’t know. I think it’s one of those like unspoken rules? Like a friend is someone who looks out for your best interest, and that’s something our parents have been doing since like the start of our lives, you know?”

“Oh. Like coming to school events and baking cupcakes?” Theo asked. 

Scott nodded, “Yeah, and like tucking you in and helping you with homework.”

“Reminding you to do your homework,” Stiles added. 

“And telling you they love you,” Scott said. “Kisses goodnight and making breakfast or grabbing it on the way to school from McDonalds.”

“My parents don’t do that,” Theo said. 

“What?” Stiles asked, eye wide. “They don’t take you to McDonalds?”

“No. Well, I mean, yeah. I’ve been to McDonalds before, but with my sister instead.” Theo shook his head, “Mom and dad don’t tuck us in or kiss us or say they love us or make us breakfast or help us with homework or...” He trailed off, frowning. “I guess I never thought about it before. I mean, I guess I don’t ask them to.”

“You should,” Scott said. 

“Hey, maybe your sister is your best friend?” Stiles suggested. “She takes you to McDonalds? That’s cool. I’m an only child.”

“Me too,” said Scott.

“She’s not,” Theo said confidently. “She doesn’t even like me that much.”

“Which is why I’m glad I’m an only child,” Stiles nodded. “Siblings can be mean. Especially older ones. You hear about it all the time and see it in movies. Older brothers picking on little brothers. Sisters pulling each others’ hair.”

“We could be best friends,” Scott suggested. 

“What about your mom?” Stiles asked, “Won’t she be sad?”

“No, I think she’d like it if I had friends over once in awhile.” Scott said, “She wouldn’t be so worried about dad leaving. Plus, you guys could meet her and she could be your friend too.”

Theo smiled shyly at them both. “We could have sleepovers?”

“Oh, yes!” Stiles fist-pumped the air. “We are totally going to be best friends! And you know what’s better than one best friend?”

“What?” Theo and Scott asked in unison. 

“Two best friends! Maybe three if Scott’s mom makes more of those cupcakes.” Stiles cheered. “Dudes, I am so glad I didn’t go home right away. I met my two new best friends and made an entire country out of sand,” he gestured to his half of the sandbox. “This is the Land of Stiles, where I’m the president, the sheriff, and the guardian! So no bullies can get in, like Jackson!”

“Jackson’s a jerk,” Scott agreed, and Theo nodded. Scott and Theo took in their shared half of the sandbox, looking at their own villages.

Scott put on an announcer’s voice, “This is Scott-land, where-”

“Dude, you can't do that. Scotland is a real place,” Stiles interrupted in a terrible British accent, making Theo and Scott laugh.

“Okaaaaay, then it’s the land of Scott? And I am the king, the doctor, and the veterinarian!”

“What are those?” Stiles asked, pointing to Theo’s neatly lined grid of woodchips.

“A graveyard,” Theo said. He pointed to the castle-mound, “And this is the underground hospital.” The mound had bendy straws sticking out of it, twigs lain about. “These are all the pipes and stuff that carry out the chemicals and bad things. The doctors drag the bodies to the grave once they fail.”

“Weird,” Stiles said, and Theo tried to hide a flinch. “But cool.”

Scott nodded. “Yeah, that’s kind of neat, Theo.”

“I think it’d be better if all if our villages were a part of each other,” Theo admitted shyly, “and Stiles, you can still be the sheriff, and Scott’s our doctor, and we all have a say in what goes on around the town. Also, Theo-land, is a dumb name.”

Stiles nodded sagely, “Okay, this is all of ours, then! Our castles and townspeople and our graveyard and hospital! I’m sheriff, Scott’s the doc, and Theo, you can be our gatekeeper. It’s your responsibility to keep Jackson out.”

“And Mrs. Burns,” Theo decided, accepting his duty with a pleased smile. Their teacher was a small middle-aged, kind-faced woman with mousy brown hair and bottle cap glasses. It was obvious to the whole class that her favorite student was Lydia Martin, and that she didn’t care much for Theo.

“Okay, and Mrs. Burns.” Stiles agreed, Scott nodding.

“I didn’t really want to go home because my mom’s working later tonight and video games aren’t really that fun by yourself.” Scott revealed suddenly. “I’m really glad I got to stay and talk to you guys.”

“Well, Theo and I could come over and play with you. I’d have to go home and ask my dad first. 

Or call the station. He’s working late tonight, too.” Stiles suggested, practically buzzing with excitement.

“What about your mom?” Scott asked.

“She’s sick. She’s probably still in bed. It’s better if I don’t bother her when she’s like that,” Stiles said. “So I’ll just bother you guys instead!”

Then, the three of them stood. Stiles took the lead on the walk home, leading them to his house, chattering madly to the both of them about anything and everything. He’s totally going to kick Scott’s butt at Mario Kart when they get to Scott’s mom’s house (after he checks in with dad) . Oh, and they’ll wait outside while he does that so they don’t wake his mom. Also, Theo’s spiderman shoes are sooo cool and Stiles totally wants a pair, but maybe some that light up, and no they’re not for babies.

 

Teen Wolf

 

Melissa knew things would be okay when Scott came home from school chattering excitedly about his new friends, Theo and Stiles. She’d been afraid after she’d kicked Rafael out of their home that Scott would wither in the face of his father’s unprepared, abrupt absence. But she felt that this would be for the best. Having grown up in a household of two alcoholic parents, she knew the moment Raf had knocked their son down the stairs in a drunken state, that she wouldn’t allow her son to experience what she had growing up. She needed to believe an absent father was better than a man who only remembered to be a dad once the booze cabinet had been drunk dry.

She smiled to herself as she reheated leftovers in the microwave for the two of them, as Scott chattered happily about some sort of kingdom he and the other two boys had made after school yesterday. “Maybe they would like to come over this weekend for a sleepover?” Melissa suggested. “You can ask them at school tomorrow and we can arrange it so I can meet their parents after school on Friday.”

Scott jumped up excitedly, fist-pumping the air, something he must have learned from one of the other boys. Melissa laughed, eyes watering a little at the utter relief she was feeling. Her son had been so quiet since Rafael had left, and Melissa had been terrified, so scared, that the behavior wouldn’t get better and she would cave, inviting Rafael back, bringing that poison back into their home if only to placate her suddenly withdrawn son. The bills, the responsibilities of being a single parent, she could handle. But the quiet sadness that had been her son for the last week nearly broke her.

“Yes! Oh my god, mom! They’ll be so excited!”

“Okay. But dinner first, and then let me look over your homework afterwards.”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Scott.”

“Love you too, mom.”


	2. The Thing about Theo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little world-building of my AU and my AU-Theo?

Theo Raeken didn’t have a best friend for the first eight years of his life. 

He didn’t have any friends.

When he first started school, he remembers sitting by while other kids carefully bonded over sports and cartoons and sharing building blocks, and he had felt so uncomfortable, so out-of-his-element, that he hadn’t talked to a single person in his class for the rest of that year.

It wasn’t until that fateful day after school in the first grade, that Theo tentatively built his first ever friendships. 

Scott and Stiles changed everything.

Because Theo hadn’t known what it was like to care for someone else so genuinely, so purely, and so much. He hadn’t known at all what it was like to want to make someone laugh when they look upset, to play the same game with them over and over and not get bored, to want to hug them just because

just because he loves them and they love him just because he wants to 

He wants to be close to them forever and always and never let them go because life before Stiles and Scott was so bleak and dull and lonely. 

And he can’t go back to bleak and dull and lonely.

In a way, he guesses they’ve made him weak. Dependent. 

He had been a quiet, sullen, little boy with a mean smile and an empty heart when his world was full of just himself.

Now? Now, the world is Stiles, Scott, and him. And now, he doesn’t think he’d ever be able to go back to the Before. Because now he realizes how awful the Before really was.

Before had been a large, spacious, home with white-painted walls and hung pictures of a family of four, standing close together with arms around one another, matching white smiles, and pressed suits. Before had been a mother drinking one too many glasses of wine during dinner, his sister prattling along about nothing to combat the stifling silence, and his father texting other women underneath the dinner table, snapping at Theo to stop picking at his food. 

Before had been cold. It had felt oppressive. 

But now. Now. Theo’s present was weekends spent in the warm living room at the McCall’s house, sprawled out on the floor between his two best friends, playing video games while Melissa makes mac n cheese. Theo’s present is running out of the house on his way to school, buzzing with energy and excitement to see Scott and Stiles during recess before class. 

“We’re always going to be friends.” Scott had said one day. “We’ll always be here for each other.”

“I’m really glad that I can talk to you about everything,” Stiles had responded, trying not to cry. “I can’t talk to my dad about mom because he gets upset about it, too. I can’t talk to him about what I think we should do or how I feel about it because he just needs me to be okay. He can’t worry about me and worry about her at the same time, and I get that. But if I didn’t have anyone to talk to, I think I’d fall apart, you know? But that won’t happen because I have you guys. I can tell you about the nightmares and the sleepwalking and what’s going on with her.”

“We can tell each other anything,” Scott ends up saying. “Because that’s what we are supposed to do. Support each other. Mom says friends are part of your support system.”

“And I know if I tell you about my mom, you won’t say she’s crazy. I know that if I talk to you about what I think or how I feel, that you won’t say I’m being selfish,” Stiles continues, and the tears are becoming real now. They’re dripping down his face, and despite the snot and the mess, Theo can still bring himself to join Scott in pulling Stiles’ in for a well-needed group hug. “I love you guys so frickin’ much.”

“I’ve never had friends before,” Theo admitted quietly. “I’ve never felt the need to make other people feel better. I’ve never felt the need to go to others to make myself feel better. But now I do. I wouldn’t give that up for anything.”

Scott smiles into Theo’s shoulder. “Stoppit, dude! You’re going to make me cry too, and then it’ll just be Stiles and I clinging on to you and getting snot all over your shirt and-”

“I don’t mind.” Theo interrupts, his own eyes feeling a little prickly. “If it’s you guys, I don’t mind. I’ve never - I. I’ve never cared for someone, or even two people, in the way I do with you. I love you. I don’t think I’ve been able to love anyone before like I do you.”

“We’re brothers,” Stiles mumbles into Theo’s shoulder.

Scott agrees with a barely-concealed sob. 

“My sister, my parents,” Theo started, “I don’t love them like this. Because this? This feels real. This feels like family. What family is supposed to feel like. My family doesn’t feel like this. Everything with them is so fake. But you guys showed me how it’s supposed to be and I-” Theo cuts himself off with a choked sob.

“Oh, here we go!” Stiles warbles, and Scott stutters a laugh. The two of them push against Theo, and they all tip over on the pile of blankets and pillows, a heap of tears and giggles.

So, yes, he supposes that they have made him weak. But he knows they’re also strong together.

“Stiles! What happened?” Scott exclaimed as he and Theo rounded the corner out of the cafeteria, watching as Stiles scrambled to pick up his scattered books, which had mashed potatoes and gravy splattered all over them.

Stiles didn’t answer right away, and Scott and Theo set to helping him gather his books and notebooks. It looked like someone had taken Stiles’ bag out of his cubby and thrown them about before throwing their lunch on it. Theo’s hands were shaking with how angry he felt. Stiles was a perfectly nice, if not a little obnoxious and dorky, person! And Stiles was one of Theo’s best friends. And no one should mess with anything of Theo’s.

“What. Happened.” Theo tried not to snarl as they got all of Stiles’ things together. 

Stiles was trying not to cry as he tried washing his stuff off in the drinking fountain, but the water just served to turning the paper into a soggy, pulpy mess, with ink bleeding into the water dripping off them. He clutched a couple of his journals tightly before turning quickly and throwing them against the far wall of the empty hallway they were in with a strangled cry. “Jackson happened! He - He said I’m a freak! A-and my mom’s a freak! And I’ve apparently been bringing m-my freaky self too close t-to Lydia Martin! He says I’m going to end up like mom someday, in the loony bin, and what’s the point trying anything with Lydia because no one’s going to want to put up with a crazy loser like that.” Stiles was angry, too, but Theo could tell that Jackson’s words had also cut deep with Stiles. He was hurting as well, but keeping a lid on it pretty well. “I don’t even - I mean, I like Lydia. She’s - ha - she’s gorgeous and super smart... But I’ve never even talked to her. I’m not trying to steal her from anyone. I haven’t even tried being her friend or anything...”

“That doesn’t matter,” Scott sighed. “It shouldn’t matter. Even if you had been talking to Lydia and trying to go out with her, or whatever, that doesn’t mean someone should trash your things, Stiles!”

Theo clenched his fists, “Scott’s right. Jackson shouldn’t have done this.”

“Well, maybe he thinks I did! I don’t know! My stuff is ruined, though.” Stiles sighed, picking up the sopping-wet heaps of paper. He looked at it in his hands, stepping over the sizeable puddle of water in the hallway, and throwing it right in the trash. “I’ll have to tell my dad I lost the library books. He’ll be a little upset, but it won’t be the first time he’s paid for a library book.”

“Forget about the books for now. Theo and I should talk to Jackson.” Scott said.

“What?! No! You’re only going to make it so much worse!” Stiles protested, arms flailing, his wet sleeves and hands flinging water droplets onto Theo and Scott’s face.

Theo stepped forward, grabbing on to Stiles’ hands to stop the onslaught. “Jackson’s got it coming,” Theo promised. “He needs to learn that he can’t just do whatever he wants and get away with it every time!”

“Yeah! And he needs to realize that he doesn’t own people. Just because someone wants to talk to Lydia or Danny doesn’t mean Jackson can torment them! You don’t own people!” Scott replied.

Theo nodded, although he could kind of see himself getting defensive if someone came in between the three of them and tried to steal Scott and Stiles away from him. “No one hurts my friends.”

So the three of them had walked outside to confront Jerkson, despite Stiles’ initial protest. They found him easily enough. Theo had immediately taken the lead, going straight up to Jackson and getting chest-to-chest and eye-to-eye with him. Theo smirked at him, “Where did you get the idea it would be okay to take my friend’s stuff and dump your lunch all over it?”

Jackson smiled, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who are you?”

Theo could practically smell the lie. “Stiles’ friend. Why did you dump food on my friend’s stuff? Because you were afraid he’d steal your girlfriend? Well, you don’t have a girlfriend, Jackson!” Theo looked behind Jackson, to where Danny and Lydia were hanging out on the monkey bars. “Do either of you know Jackson’s girlfriend?”

They shook their heads, watching quietly.

Theo locked eyes with Jackson. “So if you’re not afraid he was going to steal your girlfriend - a girlfriend you don’t have, by the way - then what is it? Huh? You’re scared Lydia will like him more than you?”

Jackson’s face scrunched up in discomfort and anger at that, face steadily flushing red. “What?! No! No one likes him! Except for you guys! And not many people like you guys either!”

Theo shook his head, “You’re right to be afraid, Jackass. Because Stiles is one of the best friends I’ve ever had. He always makes me laugh, tells funny stories, and always tries to make everything better when something is wrong. He’s my friend and you don’t mess with my friends.” Theo’s smirk had long since dropped off, face slipping back into the blank-eyed, empty-hearted stare of that sullen, angry little boy from Before. 

Jackson completely missed the warning, “She’s too good for you, Stilinski! I’ve seen you staring at her in class and from across the playground! She doesn’t want anything to do with you, you crazy freak! You never sit still, always interrupt your friends and the teacher, and you mess everything up! You should be in the loony bin just like your-”

Jackson never got to finish, cut off by the crack of his own nose crunching painfully under Theo’s elbow as Theo crashed into him.

“Jackson!” Lydia had yelled, hopping off the monkey bars. She seemed upset, angry, at first, but when Theo didn’t get off of him, she began to panic, along with Danny. “Oh my god, Jackson!”

“Theo!” Scott and Stiles yelled, running forward and grabbing their friend by his arms, trying to pull him up and off Jackson. Theo nearly shrugged them off, still hitting the seething and hissing monstermonstermonsterthreatgethimbeforehegetsyou underneath him. With great difficulty, Theo allowed himself to be pulled off the other boy. 

Jackson laid on the woodchips, blood streaming down his lower half of his face. “My father will hear about this, Raeken, and if you weren’t aware, my father is an extremely good lawyer.”

“Stop talking,” Danny snapped, “Your nose might be broken and you still need to apologize to Stiles.”

“Apologize to him? His friend just attacked me!” Jackson protested.

By now, the teacher’s aide had noticed the scuffle and was heading over, whistle blaring. 

“Because you were a jerk!” Danny responded. 

The six of them ended up in the principal’s office. Theo, Scott, and Stiles sat together with Danny between them and Jackson and Lydia. The nurse had looked at Jackson’s nose and had deemed it ‘not broken, but that it would be very swollen and bruised for the next few days.’ Theo had apologized to Scott and Stiles 

“I didn’t mean to get you guys in trouble, too.” Theo had whispered quietly under Jackson and Lydia’s hissing argument.

“It’s okay, Theo.” Scott said, clapping him on the shoulder. 

Stiles nodded, “Yeah. Thanks for sticking up for me. Maybe next time don’t hit him so hard, though.”

Theo’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, “I can still hit him, though?”

“Yeah. You can still hit him,” Scott said. “We protect each other. We’re family.”

Danny’s parents came first and took him home with some disappointed looks and mild scolding after they’d found out he wasn’t directly involved with the altercation. Jackson’s father showed up next, demanding Theo be suspended or expelled. 

“Sir, if I can say something?” Lydia piped up suddenly. 

Their principal nodded, waving to her in a ‘go on’ motion. 

“Well. I just wanted to let you know that you might want to keep in mind that the incident wasn’t entirely unprovoked. I don’t know the whole story, but Jackson dumped his lunch all over Stiles’ things because he didn’t like Stiles’... looking at me.” She crossed her legs, looking at the principal and Jackson’s father expectantly. 

“....Thank you for that, Miss Martin.” The principal said, while Jackson’s father crossed his arms and leveled his son with an exasperated and furious ‘really?’ expression.

By the time the sheriff and Melissa had arrived, Jackson’s father had recanted his threats of pressing charges, and Theo had been told to apologize to Jackson twice now (the first time hadn’t sounded believable enough), and Jackson had been made to apologize to Stiles’ four times. Scott and Stiles hugged Theo before they went home, and Jackson’s father asked when Theo’s parents would arrive.

“We haven’t been able to reach Mr. and Mrs. Raeken,” the principal said.

So Jackson’s dad had offered to give Theo a ride home, and Theo had cautiously accepted. He rode in the back of the car as Jackson and his father drove in silence interrupted by the occasional direction from Theo. When they arrived at his house, Jackson’s dad had turned and looked at him. “Before you go,” he said, snagging Theo before he could fling the door open and run into the house, “Before you go, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for my son’s behavior towards your friend. However, punching Jackson was not the way to go, Theo. I know you were angry and thought you were standing up to Jackson, but you were being a bully yourself. You had my son down on the ground and kept hitting him in the face. Your friends had to pull you off of him. Do you understand how alarming that it?” 

Theo nodded, shrinking into himself a little. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

Jackson’s dad sighed, “You could have gotten into real trouble over that. That’s called assault, no matter the reason or excuse for it. If the two of you were teenagers in high school and you had seriously hurt my boy, I would have pressed charges and you could have been tried as an adult, Theo. That means, more than likely, a prison sentence.”

Theo’s brow furrowed,. “I understand.” 

“Stay out of trouble, Theo.”

The incident with Jackson lead to several things. Firstly, Scott, Stiles, and Theo weren’t able to see each other after school or on the weekends for a couple weeks after the incident. They were upset, of course, and clung together even closer at school, milking every moment they could get together out of their busy days. Secondly, Theo’s parents were made aware of the incident later on the night of, when one of them finally got around to listening to the voicemails on their home phone. As a result, Theo was made to see a counsellor after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays for his anger issues. His sister immediately deemed him nuts and told all of her friends that her psycho little brother had beaten up another kid at school, and whenever he saw her or her friends, he was constantly reminded of the incident. His parents were as distant as ever, silently taking him to and from his appointments with blank faces and slumped shoulders. 

It took a while before Theo revealed the news to Scott and Stiles, whose reactions were refreshing.

“I think it could help, maybe?” Scott said thoughtfully, twirling the school’s spaghetti onto his plastic fork, “Always having someone to talk to could be a good thing, I guess.”

Stiles perked up a little next to Theo, leg bouncing up and down as he practically vibrated in his chair, launching into a story, “I saw a counsellor a couple of times when my mom forgot who I was and tried to attack me.” The words were said nonchalantly, but Stiles’ hands were crushing and ripping at his garlic toast. “It was weird. Not bad weird - like I actually thought it was going to be - but a good weird! 

I had to talk about my feelings and how I was having problems in school and with the upcoming move - this was before we moved to Beacon Hills, obviously - and my counsellor actually diagnosed me with my ADD, and was able to help my dad understand why I was having all these problems with school and staying on track and stuff. So that helped. 

I mean, it kind of helped telling the counsellor how I felt about my mom and her diagnosis and stuff, but - I don’t know! - I just... I didn’t want to go for very long. I didn’t really like sitting there and talking about everything because it just kept reminding me about it and making it so it was all I thought about, which was making it an even bigger issue, and I ended up telling my dad, and he stopped making me go! But, um, it was good for a little while.”

“Yeah. So, it’s nothing to be scared of,” Scott surmised. 

“But I’m not scared,” Theo said, “I just don’t think I should be going. I don’t think sitting in a room with a strange old guy or old lady and blubbering about my broken home and less-than-stellar childhood, and playing one of those ‘Connect-the-dots-to-understand-the-bigger-picture’ games with the doctor to figure out why I do the things I do, or why I am the way I am, is really going to help me.”

“It helped me,” Stiles piped up, little bits of food flying out of his mouth. “Kind of.”

“So put up with it for a little while,” Scott suggested. 

“Yeah, it’s not like you’ll be going to a counsellor for life,” Stiles added candidly.

Another thing that happened, was it was evident to Theo that Scott’s mom, Melissa, and Stiles’ dad, John, had changed their attitudes towards Theo. Before, the adults had been quite laid back whenever the boys spent time together, giving them plenty of space and catering to the boys’ sleepovers in the background. Now, the two of them became more involved, Melissa often asking how school was going and even getting to know Stiles and Theo a bit more, engaging them in conversation and directly asking how their family was, what their parents did for work, and how they liked school and their teacher and more. John, like Jackson’s father, sat Theo down shortly after the incident, and explained to Theo the dangers of physical confrontation, what assault was, how a charge like assault or battery could affect someone’s life from both the victim and the offender’s point of view, and what house arrest, probation, and jail time could mean. 

In the end, Theo was rather stubborn, not regretting the incident and what it had entailed. He didn’t regret protecting his friend, and he didn’t regret what had happened between him and Jackson. A part of him wished he had maybe confronted Jackson when the two of them were alone and away from the public eye, but he realized he didn’t actually want to hurt Jackson that bad or kill him, but just make him pay. He also became closer to Melissa and John, including them in his world of people he cared for. They seemed like decent people and they cared for their kids and, apparently, Theo as well, which Theo wasn’t sure how to deal with. 

The counselling was horrible, though. After several weeks of sessions full of uncomfortable sessions with prying questions and little games where Theo had to uses toys and pictures to describe situations and events and his family and friends how he saw them, the counsellor pulled his parents aside and suggested taking Theo to a child psychologist. 

Theo knows this because he was sitting in the hallway and the counsellor hadn’t closed the door all the way. 

“You have a very bright, intelligent young boy on your hands,” his counsellor, Dylan, a mid-thirties guy fond of striped button-ups and tan khakis, told his parents. “He’s remarkably well-rounded when it comes to school academically. But your son has several characteristics and habits that are quite alarming. He needs to be seen by a child psychologist, someone who can make a professional diagnosis and perform tests I’m not certified to do.”

“What’s wrong with him?” His mother had questioned, softly, airily. She never spoke that way at home or in public with the family and her friends. She was often very direct, emboldened, and spoke confidently. Here, in the office, she sounded like she was drifting, ready to blow away, like a partially-snapped branch in the middle of a windstorm. 

“Nothing is wrong with him,” Dylan assured her. “He’s just a very, very unique boy. He feels very strongly about the people he cares about. His friends, mainly. But he doesn’t seem to have much empathy for others, those he doesn’t know and those he doesn’t care about as much. Of course, any child or person, would be attached to their friends, but at this level for a boy this young...? There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s smart, mature for his age, and very devoted to Scott and Stiles. He’s protective and cares for them very much. 

But he doesn’t seem to emote very well with several emotions. Empathy, for one. He feels anger very strongly and it controls him. Sadness, happiness, guilt, remorse, he feels rather... dully. Jealousy, heartbreak are amplified strongly for a boy so young. He finds it very trying to really think things through. He is very impulsive. From an unprofessional standpoint, he seems like a very jaded child.”

“And from a professional standpoint?” His father demands, voice too loud in the quiet building.

“I’m not at liberty to make any firm diagnosis. But. Psychopathy, antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, to name a few could-bes.” There was an awful silence that followed his statement. “Again, I’m not certified to make any firm diagnosis, but I would strongly advise your son see a child psychologist.”

Outside the office, Theo’s heart and thoughts were racing. There’s something wrong with me. Psychopath. Isn’t that what Jackson calls Stiles’ mom? And Stiles’ mom hurts him sometimes... But she doesn’t mean to. I guess I didn’t really mean to hurt Jackson as much as I did, does that mean that’s the same thing? Am I gonna end up like Stiles’ mom? Am I going to hurt Stiles? Scott? And what about those other disorders? Those don’t sound good either. I really am nuts. Tara’s right.

So caught up in his thoughts, he wasn’t prepared for the door ghosting open and his father to grab him by the shoulder, making Theo jump. 

“We’re leaving,” his father snapped, commanded, and Theo jumped up, glancing at his mother’s wet, red, and puffy eyes, and turning his gaze to the floor.


	3. It Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, Theo's been dreaming a little dream and Stiles' mom is being cryptic and weird. 
> 
> Enjoy the foreshadowing.

It starts shortly after that. 

The first grade is dragging along. They’ve enjoyed Thanksgiving break with each other, Stiles’s parents and Scott’s mom having one big dinner at Scott’s house. Theo wasn’t able to go, as his parents were attending a business gala that he and his sister were required to go, dressing up in uncomfortable clothes and pinching shoes. But he was able to sneak away early and walked to Scott’s house, borrowing a pair of pajama pants and an old t-shirt for the night.

He wasn’t able to sleep. 

The next morning, when Stiles and Scott start blinking awake with wide yawns and hands rubbing at their eyes, Theo’s already up with Melissa in the kitchen. If she notices his fumbling hands and stumbling steps, she doesn’t say anything. He struggles to keep up with Stiles’ rapid verbal fire today, unable to follow the pattern of conversation, even after Stiles has taken his adderall. Scott and Melissa easily dam the rushing waterfall that is Stiles, curbing and filtering the stories and questions with answers and laughter, and Theo squints and rubs at his eyes, feeling for the first time so incredibly lost and alone with his friends.

Melissa offers to give him a ride home because he lives further away than Stiles, and its when they’re in the car, that she makes eye contact with him in the rear view mirror, and asks, with eyebrows drawn in close together, “Theo, are you alright? Did you sleep okay last night?”

Concern is still unfamiliar to Theo. It’s something he’s still trying to get used to.

“Yeah. I slept fine,” Theo lies, and he’s not sure why. He’s not sure what’s going on.

I just couldn’t sleep because it felt like something was coming. Something was coming for me. 

And I laid there terrified the whole night next to my oblivious best friends.

 

Teen Wolf

 

Stiles was sat in the living room, chewing on his pencil as he looked at the worksheets Mrs. Burns had assigned for homework that night. It’d taken him the better part of an hour to complete the first two, and he had yet to complete even the first half of the third. It wasn’t hard work, he was comfortable with fractions. The problems were long word problems and he had a hard time focusing enough to figure out exactly what he was expected to solve. 

It didn’t help that he was on edge. His mom was walking around the kitchen in a zombie-like state, wearing three day old stale pajamas, and hair falling out of a sleep-mussed ponytail. The new medication the doctors gave her made her awfully tired and cranky, meaning she slept most of the day and when Stiles and her were home together, Stiles was nervous to approach her unless dad was there too.

“Where is it?” she was muttering, opening and shutting cupboard doors. “Stiles! Stiles, where’s is it?”

Stiles pulled the pencil from his mouth, sitting up straighter. “Where’s what, mom?”

“My wallet! My keys! Where are they?” she asked, “Did you take them?”

Stiles frowned, “No? The keys are hung up by the door. Isn’t your wallet in your purse?”

Silence was deafening from the kitchen as his mom ghosted around their house. Stiles hopped up when he heard the front door open and shut. He ran to the front door, slipping his shoes on, and following his mother outside. She climbed up into her jeep, starting it up, and Stiles ran out, pulling the passenger door open and clambering up. “Where are we going, mom?”

“To a special place,” she answered, tires squealing as she pulled out of the driveway. 

Claudia drove for fifteen minutes, Stiles nervously fiddling with the radio. They pulled up to a large wooded area, Claudia putting the jeep in park and getting out, leaving it running and the lights still on. Stiles quickly shut the jeep off, climbing over to the driver’s side to turn the lights off. He followed his mom into the woods, tripping over roots in his desperation to keep up with his mother. “Where are we?” he asked nervously, looking at the darkening skies.

“The preserve,” Claudia answered wistfully. “I loved this place when we first moved here,” she said. “You know, when I was pregnant with you, I used to take hours-long drives while your father was at work. I found this place before we moved here. Beacon Hills. Something in this woods practically called to me when I was pregnant with you, called to us.” She laughed lightly, “Just like the name. Like a beacon.”

Stiles said nothing as his mother took his hand, leading him through the woods, appearing to know exactly where she was going. 

“Years and years ago, I imagine there used to be this enormous hundred-years old tree in these woods. Then someone came along and just cut it down,” she said mournfully. “I don’t know why. It’s really a wondrous thing, the enormity of this thing. Wait until you see it, Mieczyslaw, it’s beautiful.”

They came to a small clearing, where a huge stump stood as tall as Stiles did. 

“I think it got sick,” Claudia said. “Kind of like me. Except, when trees get sick, they get cut down.” She let go of Stiles’ hand, running her hands across the stump. “I bet it was absolutely gorgeous before the illness ravaged it.”

Stiles stared at the stump, feeling inexplicably uneasy. His heart pounded, blood rushing in his ears. It was just a stump. An old tree. He didn’t know why he felt such a sense of foreboding about it.

“Why do things get sick, Mieczyslaw? You’re a smart boy. You read a lot, much more than I did at your age. Maybe even more than I have in my lifetime.”

“I don’t know, mom,” Stiles spoke around a dry tongue.

“This sickness started at the roots, working it’s way up into the entirety of the tree. Nothing could be saved. So they cut it down. Now, all that’s left, is the stump.” Claudia traced the peeling bark up the sides of the not-tree.

“Mom,” Stiles said, weighing his words carefully. “You’re not the tree. That’s not going to happen to you.”

“Oh, you’re smarter than this, Stiles,” Claudia whispered sadly, looking at her son with pained eyes.

 

Teen Wolf

 

Monday morning comes and Theo wakes, his sister pounding on his bedroom door while she catches the bus. He groans, rolls over, and resigns himself to the fact that he’ll be walking. 

He doesn’t normally sleep in. He has an alarm clock set to go off, but he somehow slept through it. He gets up, feeling as though he hasn’t slept at all, and it’s when he’s putting his socks on that he realizes

His feet are filthy. There’s dirt crusted between his toes, small scratches and abrasions litter the bottoms of his feet. He rolls his covers back off of his bed, and the pristine sheets underneath have streaks of filth on them.

What did I do last night?

 

Teen Wolf

 

The three of them had fast become each other’s very best friends. They spent time after school at Scott’s house or the park, waiting for Stiles’ dad to pick him up after work or after doctor’s appointments, and Theo stuck around afterwards for as long as reasonably possible before heading home himself. On weekends, they jumped from house to house, sleeping in the McCall living room, in a tent in the Stilinski’s back yard (“Mom sleepwalks sometimes at night and forgets where she is. Dad doesn’t want you guys to see it and worry, so we get to go camping tonight! Dad said he might even let us have roasted marshmallows if we help him dig for the firesticks and sleeping bags out in the garage!), and a few times at Theo’s.

“Your house is really big, Theo,” Scott said as they walked in through the back door.

Theo nodded, agreeing that his house was bigger than his friends’ parents’ homes, but he would pick Melissa’s cluttered living room or John’s spacious backyard over his own home any day. The three boys traipsed through the back porch, through the open concept kitchen and living room, and down a hallway with dark flooring and high white walls, pictures hung perfectly. 

“I don’t know if I like it,” Stiles whispered to Scott, and Theo looked at them over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow, unoffended. “I’m sorry! I - just. Don’t be mad, but it feels...”

“Cold?” Theo suggested.

Stiles nodded, “Yeah.”

“What are you guys talking about? It feels fine in here,” Scott said, referring to the actual temperature of Theo’s bedroom. 

“No, Scott. It’s just,” Stiles glanced nervously at Theo, “Where are your toys? Your dirty clothes? This whole house looks like something you’d seen in Better Homes and Gardens. It’s just so perfect in a really weird way. Like I’m afraid to touch anything. I can’t believe I’m standing on your floor right now! Are my socks dirty, Scott?” Stiles lifted his feet up, inspecting the bottom of his white socks.

Stiles was right, Scott realized, looking around Theo’s perfect bedroom. The room was absent of all mess and any sign that this was a kid’s room. The bed was made, comforter tucked, bed skirt unrumpled, and pillows fluffy-looking. The floors were clean and pristine, accented with a rug that matched the bed’s sheets. Books were lined on shelves symmetrically, the dresser and shelves had accent items on them that couldn’t actually be Theo’s, just stuff to fill up space and cover up the gaping empty and nothing that was here.

Stiles was sliding his socked feet along the floor, “Whoa. Your floors are, like, super freaky clean, dude! Scott, look!” Stiles showed them his white socks, “No dirt. No dust! This is crazy!”

“Your house is still nice,” Scott told Theo. 

Theo shook his head, “Thanks. But it’s not.”

“No, but seriously. Look at my socks,” Stiles said, shoving his feet at them. Scott groaned in amused disgust, and Theo rolled his eyes. “Does anyone live here?!”

“Yeah. My sister, Tara, my parents, and myself,” Theo said. 

“...Do you guys wanna slide down the hallway?” Stiles started, already turning around with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Scott nodded, “Yes!” He turned to Theo, “Will your parents be mad?”

Theo shrugged, “I don’t know. They don’t care what I do.”

“Okay, wait, your house is actually really cool now,” Stiles decided, sliding out of the room. His foot hit the raised divider in Theo’s doorway, tripping into the wall as Scott and Theo erupted into laughter.

 

Teen Wolf

 

It’s December when it happens for real.

He’s laying in bed, in a state between asleep and awake. He hears a whisper, and his eyes crack open, immediately landing on the open window.

He racks his brain, trying to remember if he’d left it like that or not before climbing into bed, when hands reach out of the darkness and grab him. His shouts are muffled by the leathery hands that cover his mouth.

He fights.

He kicks, but hands grab at his ankles, wrapping something around them, pinching and tight. His arms flail, but the hands at his mouth come from underneath his armpits, and his attacker has no problem dragging him off the bed and across the room, to the window. Something pinches his neck and he feels weightless.

He wakes up again in his own bed that morning, red lines wrapped around his ankles, and a small bruise on his neck left from the pinch of a needle.

He tells his sister at the bus stop. 

“It was just a dream,” she laughs at him, shaking her head. “Did you think it was real?”

“It was real,” he argues. “Someone came in my room last night. I have - they tied my ankles together, and I have the marks from it! And look at my neck!” He points to the bruise.

She rolls her eyes. “Theo, get a life. Making something up like that isn’t funny. There’s real bad people out there who kidnap little boys and girls for nasty stuff, and a lot of those kids don’t get to come home.”

So he shuts up, and boards the bus quietly. 

At school, it’s almost too easy to slip into the normal flow of banter and camaraderie he, Stiles, and Scott share.

But it happens again that night.

And the next.

And the next.

It’s Thursday, mid-December, and it’s recess.

Kids are running around in the chilly air, playing kickball on the black top. It snowed a little the night before, but it's Beacon Hills, California, and most of it melted, so it’s wet, and cold, and muggy outside.

Stiles, Scott, and Theo are standing in line to kick, and Theo is the one to change the subject for once. 

“If someone told you something that sounded totally crazy, would you believe them?” Theo asked, unsure how to word his question.

Scott frowned, and Stiles’ eyebrows rose. “Well, I guess it depends on how crazy we’re talking,” Stiles said.

“And on the person who’s telling me,” Scott said. 

“Well, if I tell you something, will you believe me?” Theo asked.

“Dude, just tell us,” Stiles said.

“When I go to sleep, people come in my room and take me somewhere else,” Theo blurted.

Stiles and Scott stared at him.

“First of all,” Stiles said, ever the first to respond and form an opinion. “That’s called kidnapping, which is illegal. Secondly, where are they taking you?”

“That’s the crazy part,” Theo said, “I don’t know.”

“How can you not know?” Scott asked.

“Because sometimes I don’t even wake up when it happens, and when I do, they stick a needle here,” Theo pointed at his neck, which was still a little blue from the last time it had happened. “And it makes me go to sleep, I guess.”

“Oh my god,” Scott said, him and Stiles’ immediately crowding Theo, poking at the mark and looking him up and down. “Does it hurt?”

“It’s sore,” Theo said, eyes watering. They believed him. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to stop it. I told my sister and she said I was making it up. I’ve tried locking my window, but it doesn’t help. I check the locks to the front and back door every night. I’ve tried sleeping in the living room, sleeping under my bed, but nothing works.”

“And you’re sure this isn’t a nightmare?” Scott asked, brows furrowed.

Theo clammed up, back going ramrod straight, and he stepped back from them.

Stiles smacked Scott on the arm. “Can’t you tell the difference from a nightmare to being stuck with a needle and taken out of your room at night?”

“I - I’m going to go inside,” Theo said.

“What? Already?” Scott asked, “We haven’t even kicked yet!”

“Dude,” Stiles hissed, shaking his head. “Theo, I think you should tell your parents about this.”

Theo’s eyebrows furrowed, “Really?”

Stiles nodded, “Yeah, man. Maybe you can sleep in their bed tonight.”

Theo shook his head, “We don’t even talk much, anymore.” Not since the incident with Jackson and counselling and the whole not-diagnosis. “Why would they let me do that?”

“...Because that’s what kids do sometimes, when they’re scared?” Stiles said, but it was worded as more of a question.

“Not me and my sister,” Theo said, “We’ve never done that. If we’re scared, we have to figure it out or just go to bed earlier.”

“Well, you should still tell them.” Stiles said.

Theo nodded, half-heartedly. He already knew that telling his parents anything wouldn’t make anything better. In fact, it would further distance them from him. They’d long since stopped making him go anywhere with them for their businesses. They would plan things with his sister and Theo wouldn’t be invited. It’s like ever since the counseling incident, they were just ignoring he existed, hoping he would just go away. 

 

Teen Wolf

 

He screams and screams. No one comes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. Thanks for reading the story. 
> 
> Name's Janelle, by the way. 
> 
> If you guys have ideas for the fic, I'm open to suggestions. This started as a what-if fix-it, and I had planned for Allison to live, for most of the Hales to survive the fire, magic!Stiles, and a good!Theo. Also, I liked the idea of Theo, Scott, and Stiles basically being a Golden Trio. Hah.


	4. Coming Undone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the reviews and kudos! 
> 
> Here's the next chapter! I finally got internet! Sorry it took me so long!
> 
> Anyways, this chapter is basically Stiles and Scott saying, "Hmm. We've got a problem. What do." and then figuring out what the hell they should do.
> 
> Next chapter is the big one! Then I think there'll be a little epilogue-thing. And then onto Part Two!
> 
> That's if everything all goes according to plan. I'm apologizing in advance if it doesn't, though! So. Sorry!!!

December turns over into January, the new year coming with a fresh dusting of snow that lasts a couple weeks, melting away in the beginning of February, but the weatherman talks about cold fronts and possible Californian snowstorms as the ground continues to stay frozen solid, and frost clings to everything every morning. Scott and Stiles grow increasingly concerned as Theo struggles alone with his nightmares, having not confided in them for several months now.

Currently, Stiles was at Scott’s house after school, as his dad was once again taking his mom to a doctor’s appointment. The two boys were in the kitchen, Scott copying off Stiles’ homework while Stiles mulled over what to do about Theo.

“He’s just so sad, now,” Scott said quietly, “Like he’s given up.”

Stiles shook his head, “No, that’s how he was a month ago. Something’s changed. He seems like he’s good, but he’s not getting better, you know? Like he acts fine, he talks like he’s okay, doesn’t sleep in class anymore, and even tells Jackson to piss off...”

“But?” Scott questioned.

“But when he thinks no one’s looking, he shuts down. He seems so empty, so blank, and when he’s happy, it seems really forced. He doesn’t really smile, either, it’s like he’s smirking. He seems meaner an-and just devoid of everything that makes Theo, well, Theo. He hasn’t really given up because there’s nothing to give up anymore. It’s like everything inside of him that makes him Theo, just got up and walked away to have a nice little vacation down south or something. He’s not Theo.”

Scott was frowning, but not disagreeing. “What do you mean he’s not Theo?”

Stiles breathed out harshly through his nose, “Okay, so you know how Spiderman and Peter Parker are the same person, Scott?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, when he’s Spiderman, he’s super strong, swings from his webs, has a bunch of one-liners, and he’s a hero...”

“Well, yeah.” Scott waved a hand for Stiles to continue.

“But when Peter Parker takes off the mask, he can’t act like that because everyone will know he’s Spiderman! So he’s really smart, and nerdy, and he lets Flash push him around even though he could cream him.”

“Okay?”

“It’s like the same with Theo, except Theo didn’t have a mask to put on! He’s Theo and he shouldn’t be acting like this. I don’t know what’s happened to him, he’s just not acting like himself!”

“Well he’s not Spiderman or Peter Parker, either.”

Stiles stares at Scott. “Oh my god, I am offended at the universe for giving you, one of my very best friends, the small amount of brains and wit that you have. It was a metaphor! Give me my homework back and do yours yourself, dude. You need it. Doctor’s orders.”

Scott shook his head, whining, “But I don’t like fractions.”

Stiles rolled his eyes, letting Scott keep his homework. “How do I explain this to you? Okay, so you know how your mom is a nurse, Scott?”

“She’s a what now?”

Stiles head whipped to look at his best friend, infuriated and relieved to see a teasing grin on his face. “You dolt. So, she’s a nurse when she’s working, right? But when she comes home, she’s not a nurse all the time. She’s your mom. But if you scrape your knee, she’s a nurse again. It’s like she’s putting her scrubs back on, or like putting a mask back on. Get it?”

Scott nodded, “Yeah.”

“Okay! Sooo! It just seems like Theo is somehow not himself, whether it’s because he’s put a figurative - not literal - mask on, or not. But something’s up. Something is wrong.” Stiles surmised. 

Scott was scribbling slowly on his worksheet, copying down the last few fractions. “Yeah, yeah. So what should we do? How do we get him to take the mask off?”

Stiles, always within a constant state of motion, flailed rapidly, “Let’s plan a sleepover at his house this weekend! That way when he starts having nightmares, or if anyone tries to kidnap him out of his room, we’ll be there as witnesses and can get help or help him!”

“What if we get kidnapped too?” Scott asked, “If Theo really is being kidnapped out of his bed at night, and his parents haven’t noticed, what are we going to do if we get taken too?”

“Well... They always bring him back.” Stiles pointed out, “And they won’t take us in the first place, Scott. They’re expecting one kid, not three, right? We’ll catch them off guard!”

“Shouldn’t we tell your dad about this?” Scott asked. 

Stiles looked away, “Uhhh...I don’t know. He and mom are really, um.” 

“How is your mom?” Scott asked, voice a little softer.

Stiles shrugged. “The same. But they’re talking about putting her into a facility. Some place called echo house or something? I don’t know. I don’t really like to listen to those phone calls anymore. Maybe we should just leave my dad out of this until we know for sure if this is all real, you know? My dad’s worried a lot about my mom. I don’t want to send him on a wild goose chase for a couple of kidnappers who might not even exist.”

Scott shrugged, “Yeah. I mean, it’s probably just nightmares anyway. His house is so big and empty, and probably super scary at night. His parents, from what we know, aren’t very friendly. His sister is mean to him, too. I’d probably have nightmares too, if I were him.”

Stiles ran a hand overtop his head, pulling it quickly down his face with a pensive sigh, “Uhhh, yeah, I don’t know. Those are some good points, Scott. Definitely things to keep in mind, and such. But. Well. They don’t exactly relate or scream ‘fear of doctors who kidnap me in the middle of the night and start experimenting on me.’ You know what I mean?”

 

Teen Wolf

 

“Why are we sleeping over at my house?” Theo asked suspiciously, side-eyeing them somehow from across the lunch table. “Normally we go to one of your guys’ house. Remember, we like Scott’s living room? And, Stiles, if your mom is having a good week, we sleep in your room. We like your room.”

“Well, we’re changing things up this weekend!” Stiles announced, hands jazzing as he bounced in his seat. “And we totally like your house! Right, Scott?”

“You said it was ‘cold,’” Scott pointed out. “Which I still don’t understand, Stiles.” Theo raised an eyebrow at Stiles, stabbing a peach with his fork. Stiles groaned, elbowing Scott in the ribs. Scott jolted, nearly dropping marinara sauce from his cheesy bread into his lap. “Ow! What’d I do?”

“We like Theo’s house!” Stiles announced, “Remember? We slid on his floors with our socks? Remember how super freaky clean it is? Theo, we like your house. Let’s have a sleepover there this weekend, okay?”

“Sure, I guess I can ask,” Theo said testily. “I just don’t like my house very much.”

“If your parents say no, you guys can still come over to mine,” Scott said, nodding at Theo. He started dipping his cheesy bread into his marinara when Stiles kicked Scott in the ankle. Scott jolted again, dropping marinara on his lap, and narrowing his eyes at Stiles. Stiles quickly pulled his legs up, settling down on them, criss-crossed, so Scott couldn’t kick him back. “Dude,” Stiles hissed quietly, “Knock it off!” 

“You knock it off!” Scott shot back. 

Theo frowned, “Are you guys okay?” 

“Yeah! Totally fine!” Stiles said, flustered.

Scott shook his head, “I’ve got marinara on my crotch now.”

“I’ll just get you some napkins then,” Theo said, standing up and taking his now-empty tray with him. “Maybe you guys can figure whatever this is out before I get back?”

“You bet!” Stiles agreed readily, watching Theo walk off. When he was out of earshot, he went to smack Scott on the shoulder. 

Scott caught his hand, “Stop hitting me! What’s your problem? Did you not take your adderall today?”

Stiles froze. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry, Scott! I was just - I. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“When you elbowed me, that kind of hurt.” Scott said heatedly. “When you kicked me, I guess it didn’t hurt too much. I’m fine.”

“I just. No, I didn’t take my adderall. I didn’t realize I was even doing it so much.”

“It’s fine, Stiles! Just _why _were you hitting me?”__

__“Oh! Because we want to stay at Theo’s house this weekend! We’re getting to the bottom of this nightmare thing, and we can’t exactly do that if you’re telling him it’s okay if his parents say no and that we can stay at your house, Scott! We have to stay at Theo’s!”_ _

__“I just said that because he seemed kind of upset about staying the night at his house!” Scott said._ _

__“Yeah, well, that sucks. That’s where the doctors visit him, so that’s where we’re going.”_ _

__“What if his parents say no, though?” Scott asked._ _

__Stiles shrugged, “Theo’s going to have to get them to say yes. Otherwise we’re sleeping over anyway. I don’t know. It’s our job to make sure our friend isn’t being kidnapped out of his bed at night and taken by some weirdo freaky doctors. That’s what best friends do.”_ _

__Theo walked up, with a wad of napkins, dropping them in Scott’s lap._ _

__Stiles tapped Scott gently on the arm. Scott jumped anyway, eyes widening in understanding. He smacked himself in the forehead, looking at Theo with his mouth wide open. “Oh, I forgot!”_ _

__Theo made eye contact. “Forgot what?”_ _

__Scott looked at Stiles, “Um.”_ _

__Stiles rolled his eyes, “Scott’s mom has a... thing, this weekend? She’s working! At the hospital! Overtime!” He and Scott nodded together._ _

__“Yeah! That’s it! Overtime,” Scott parroted. “So, yeah... We can’t stay at my place this weekend, anyway.”_ _

__“Yeah, and my mom’s been having kind of a sleepy week,” Stiles said, which was the truth. “But dad’s picked up extra hours too and won’t be home this weekend, either.” Lie._ _

__Theo frowned. “Well, I guess my parents shouldn’t mind. I’ll let you know what they say.”_ _

__

__Teen Wolf_ _

__

__That night, Scott was playing video games when his mom came in the room, smiling. “You’ve got some friends on the phone, Scott.”_ _

__Scott jumped up, picking the house phone up._ _

__“Hello?”_ _

__“Scotty!” Stiles cheered._ _

__“Hey,” Theo said, a little more subdued. The call was a three-way. “Um, yeah, I was just letting you guys know that mom and dad said they didn’t care. We just have to be quiet and need to clean up after ourselves.”_ _

__“Yeah!” Stiles cheered._ _

__Scott grinned. “Hey, mom?” he called._ _

__His mom poked her head into the kitchen, “Yeah?”_ _

__“Can I stay at Theo’s tomorrow night?” Scott asked. Faintly, he could hear Stiles shouting the same thing at his dad._ _

__“Of course,” Melissa replied, “I’ll write you a note for the bus driver!”_ _

__Scott quickly suggested Stiles ask his dad do the same. They chatted for a few minutes longer before Stiles’ dad suggested Stiles get off the phone soon. The boys said good night to one another before hanging up._ _

__Scott set the phone in its cradle, biting his lip nervously._ _

__What if there was some truth to what Theo told them a couple months ago? What if the doctors were real?_ _


	5. Countdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're almost here.

_18 hours before now ___

___“You are special. You are lucky. You were meant for something, Theo Raeken. You were meant to _become _something.”___ _ _

______Theo’s eyes flew open and he sat up anxiously, drawing in huge gasps of air. The door knob on his bedroom door started turning and he froze, staring at it in horror, holding his breath, as the door slowly swung open._ _ _ _ _ _

______His sister’s head poked out from the other side of the door, she stared back at him, startling herself into a fit of giggles. “Oh my god! I was going to try and scare you awake for school, but you’re sat up and staring at the door like-like a freak! Move it, loser!”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Theo closed his mouth, mechanically throwing the covers off his legs and stumbling around his room, getting dressed. He felt like he hadn’t slept a wink._ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______Teen Wolf_ _ _ _ _ _

_______17 hours before now ____ _ _ _ _ _

________School was pretty much uneventful. As the day broke, the lazy sun finally peaking in the sky, the temperature hit a stunning sixty-five degrees, and the kids ran around outside during recess with their spring jackets on, hats and mittens left in their cubbies. They had pizza for lunch._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________At the end of the school day, Theo led Scott and Stiles to his bus, where they each gave the driver their notes. They boarded, Scott sitting next to Theo, and Stiles sitting across from them in his own seat. They chatted, watching as more kids got on._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Lydia Martin got on the bus, making her way down the aisle. Almost subconsciously, Stiles watched in awe as she walked down the aisle towards them. He scooted towards his window, making room for her if she chose to sit there._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Of course, she didn’t. She kind of kept her distance from them ever since the Jackson incident, but she was still polite. She nodded at them as she went past, sitting down a few seats back from them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The boys continued to chat on the ride home, ignoring the other conversations around them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________When they got to Theo’s house, they did homework and played video games for several hours before they were about ready to go to bed,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Teen Wolf_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________9 hours before now ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________They set up a makeshift bed on Theo’s floor, using couch cushions and tons of blankets they’d found in the spare closet in the hallway._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Theo sat on his bed, staring at them nervously as they set up their pillows, standing around in their pajamas and looking equally as nervous._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I feel like I should apologize,” Theo said quietly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Why?” Scott frowned._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Theo sighed. “Well, two months ago I told you guys about what was happening to me and stuff. Now, here we are. It could happen to you. Tonight. Are you sure you guys don’t want to go home?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Stiles and Scott looked at each other. “Actually, that’s exactly why we’re here, Theo,” Scott said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Stiles nodded. “Yeah. We’re going to figure out for sure if it’s nightmares, or if it really is some creepy doctors kidnapping you at night! Which, if it is, we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Theo stared at them in shock. “You’re both the best and the worst friends ever. You’re the best because you’re here with me, but you’re the worst because you really shouldn’t be.” His eyes were getting shinier, and Stiles and Scott felt their hearts beat a little faster out of worry and anxiety for their friend. “I don’t want the bad things to happen to you guys.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Theo, no!” Stiles said, throwing his arms around him. “No! We’re here to help you! We’re going to make it stop! This is a good thing! Don’t cry!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Scott stepped forward, hugging them both, “Yeah, and if they aren’t nightmares, we’ll call Stiles’ dad and he’ll help us. If they are nightmares, we’ll just wake you up.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I know they aren’t just nightmares,” Theo said, “And I know I’ve said that. I’ve said that so many times over these past couple months. To you guys, to my parents...”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You told your parents?” Stiles asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Theo nodded. “They just said to suck it up. If it causes a problem, they might send me back to therapy, but I guess it hasn’t caused a problem yet.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Well. It has. Nightmare or not,” Scott said firmly. “We’re worried about you. You’re sad.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“And, no offense, but you’re also a little meaner. Like your jokes don’t seem like jokes anymore,” Stiles said. “And you’ve been pissing Mrs. Burns off a lot lately. She’s been assigning extra homework because of you!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Theo winced. “Sorry. I’ve just. I’ve been changing. I’m angrier and... This is going to sound crazy.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I think we’re way past crazy,” Scott decided, letting his hug go and stepping back. Stiles did the same, nodding, “Just lay it on us, dude. We’re here. We’re ready.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Theo frowned. “Well, I’ve been experiencing some changes, I guess. I think the doctors are making me change. They talk sometimes, over me, and I can’t always understand them. They say I’m becoming something, that I’m special, and I’ve been realizing over these past couple of months that I can do things I couldn’t before.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Scott and Stiles leaned forward in interest, “Yeah? Like?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Well, I think I can run faster, for longer periods of time. I think I’m stronger, too. I just feel it, I guess. I can smell things. Weird things.” He looked his friends up and down. “Stiles, you slept in those socks last night. They smell awful, by the way. Scott, you wear your pajamas two nights in a row and that’s it. Also, I can tell what you guys have eaten recently. Besides the mac n cheese my sister made for us and the pizza we had at school today: Stiles, you got McDonalds for breakfast this morning, which is like the third day in a row, and Scott... You had Fruit Loops and a cranberry and apple muffin.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Scott and Stiles stared at Theo with wide, shocked eyes. “Whoa. Dude. That’s, um...” Stiles, for once, seemed speechless._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“That is crazy,” Scott agreed. “So what is that? Some kind of superpower?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Pfft. You call really being able to _smell _someone in a special way a _superpower _?” Stiles asked._____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Theo shook his head, fists clenching. “No, it’s not a superpower! They’re turning me into a freak!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Hey, now,” Stiles chastised, “The Hulk isn’t a freak, is he?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Well, no, but this isn’t a comic book!” Theo snapped. “I’m not a super genius, accidentally exposing myself to gamma radiation! I didn’t get bit by some radioactive spider. I wasn’t exposed to some weird chemicals. I was taken out of my bed at night, without my permission, and experimented on! This isn’t some cool superhero story, Stiles!” He took a step forward, leaning in, “This whole thing is a nightmare! I didn’t ask for this!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Stiles stared up at him, wide-eyed. “Yeah, man... We get that now.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Scott nodded. “Look, let’s just. Go to bed, okay? We’ll stay up a little longer, look to see if you’re having any nightmares. We’ll wake you if you start twitching.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Teen Wolf_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________6 hours before now ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“I wish I had super powers,” Stiles said suddenly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________The three of them had been lying in the dark, a tense silence falling over them as they laid in waiting. Nothing had happened as of yet, other than random bouts of conversation like the one Stiles was starting now._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” Scott asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“I’d would be Batman,” Stiles decided automatically._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“What? Being Batman isn’t a superpower,” Scott sighed. “Batman doesn’t even have a superpower.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Yeah, but just the fact that he’s Batman is pretty freakin’ super!” Stiles argued. “Like he’s a super successful businessman by day, and an equally successful vigilante by night!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“So is Iron Man,” Theo pointed out. “Rich person as a day job, and then because they’re a rich person, they can do the hero thing as a hobby. You really think Bruce Wayne could be Batman if he didn’t have all that money?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“He totally could!” Stiles said. “Well... Not sure how, but he’s pretty smart!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Yeah, but not like Tony Stark-smart.” Theo said. “Tony Stark is a genius. He made his own suit out of scraps in a cave! Batman had Lucius Fox do it for him!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Well,” Stiles huffed. “What would your superpower be?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Theo scoffed. “We already know what mine are.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“If you could have any, though,” Stiles said. “If you could choose your power, what would you want it to be?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“I’d want to be super strong, or super fast,” Scott said. “Like Superman. But I’d still want to be human? So I guess like a super soldier, like Captain America or something.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“I just want to be normal,” Theo snapped. “I don’t want to be super-anything.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“I’d want to help my mom,” Stiles said after a solemn pause. “Maybe the power to take away illnesses? Make her better.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Yeah, that’d be awesome,” Scott agreed. “I’d like to have the power to make people happy. Like you and Theo and my mom.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“You already do, though,” Theo said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Stiles nodded. “Yeah, Scott, you already have that superpower.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“You guys, too.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Teen Wolf_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________7 hours before now ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________A light snoring was filling the air. Stiles squinted in the dark._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Scott?” he hissed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Yeah?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Theo’s asleep?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Yeah.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Oh, good. This might actually work, then.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“What if something happens?” Scott asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“If he starts having a nightmare, we’ll wake him up!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Yeah, but I mean, what if someone tries to kidnap us?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“That’s not going to happen. How will they take the three of us? Plus, we can just scream. Then, we’ll call my dad and they’ll go to jail.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Okay.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________Teen Wolf_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________6 hours before now ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Dude, I’m getting really tired. Are we going to do this all night?” Scott murmured._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Stiles nodded. “Yeah, we are.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“If I fall asleep, I’m sorry.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“If you fall asleep, I’m waking your sorry butt back up. I’m not doing this alone!” Stiles whisper-yelled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“...Okay.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Teen Wolf_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________________5 hours before now ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Poke._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Poke._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Poke._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________“Stiles, wake up.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Poke._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Poke._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________“Stiles!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Poke,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________“Ow, Scotty. I’m awake.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________Teen Wolf_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________________3 hours before now ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________“Whoa, I think the power went out.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________“Why?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________“I don’t know. The clock is just flashing on midnight.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________“Oh. Well, we’ll just go to sleep when the sun comes up, then?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________“Alright.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________Teen Wolf_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________2 hours before now ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“Scotty?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“Hmm?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“Are you awake?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“Hmm.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________“Just checking.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________Teen Wolf_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________________1 hour before now ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________“...”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________“...”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________“...”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________Teen Wolf_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________________________now ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________________The window slid open._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're here.


	6. The Dread Doctors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings: unnecessarily detailed description of violent gore, (minor) character death, slight dismemberment, medical torture, GORE, child abuse(?), blood, GORE

_Theo’s eyes are closed. There’s a faint breeze, a whispered rustling of sand rolling over sand, and the heat of what must be the sun on his face. His lips quirk, his hands pressing into the soft cool sand at his sides. It doesn’t seem to be an unpleasant place to be._

_”Who’s your best friend?” Stiles voice startles him, and Theo’s gaze lands on him from across the sandbox. He almost misses the question, noting in confusion that there is no sun, no breeze, no blue skies, or even the background of a playground of some sort._

_“What’s that?” Theo felt his lips move mechanically, his voice speaking, and his mouth and body subconsciously forming the words and making them happen._

_“Oh, you know,” Scott said, and Theo started a bit, gaze jumping to him, unaware that it had been the three of them in this sandbox. Everything was moving slow, filtering in like a dream, and Theo came to realize that they were all sat in the same sandbox they had met in, except they were in a wide empty white room with bright lights lining the ceiling instead of the schoolyard. They had the same sand sculptures crafted in front of them like those they had made the day they had met. “Someone you’re close to, someone you can tell anything, someone who cares for you and loves you.”_

_“Someone who stays up and watches over you at night, ready to confront your worst fears for you,” Stiles added, eyes sparkling, pulling Theo’s gaze back to him.. “So who’s your best friend?”_

_“You guys,” Theo said. His eyes drop to Stiles’ hands, manipulating and shaping the sand, but there’s something different about how Stiles is building his castles now than he had before._

_“It used to be just my mom and I,” Scott said quietly. “Then I met you both.”_

_“I just moved here,” Stiles said, still doing that weird thing with the sand, “Dad got a job. He’s going to be the sheriff some day. He always comes home and mom goes on and on about how well we’re doing here, how we’re putting our roots down here in Beacon Hills. Thriving. Like a tree. There’s this tree in the woods. A big dead thing. She’s obsessed with it. Says it’s magical. She took me there, once.” At the mention of the word_ magical _, Theo came to the abrupt realization. The sand. Stiles’ hands. He was moving the sand without touching it, with_ magic _. Which... probably wasn’t the oddest thing Stiles has ever done, if Theo was honest with himself._

_“I’ve seen it,” Scott nodded. “It’s been here forever.”_

_Theo was confused. “It didn’t happen like this. We met in the sandbox at school, and we didn’t talk about dead trees in the woods!”_

_Scott and Stiles ignored him, as if the sound of the sand hissing softly had somehow drowned him out._

_“That’s one of the things I like about having best friends,” Stiles said, again off-script, “I can tell you guys anything and you won’t think I’m weird, or being selfish, or that my mom’s crazy, even though she’s going to be going to the echo house. So how do I tell my mom she’s not the tree?”_

_Scott shrugged, “You just do. You just have to look at her, make sure she realizes how much you love her and care, and then you just tell her. She’s not the tree.”_

_“This isn’t right,” Theo repeated, feeling lethargic and as if the world was moving as fast as syrup spills into a pool on Scott’s mom’s dining room table. He was missing something here. Something big._

_Stiles nodded, locking eyes with Theo. “It’s this place. It’s cold. It doesn’t feel right.”_

_“It feels like it always has,” Scott disagreed with a shrug._

_“Nothing about this is right,” Theo says a little louder, feeling like a scratched record. “Where are we?”_

__“We’re not in Kansas anymore,” _Scott quotes, and Stiles rolled his eyes._

_Stiles locks eyes with Theo, something in his gaze suddenly urgent, “It’s happening, Theo. You were right.”_

_“Right about what?”_

_“Them. The Doctors.”_

_“They’re not here to help,” Scott says, “They’re not like my mom. They’re not even doctors, really. They’re monsters.”_

_Theo felt his breathing quicken, his heart pounding. “They’re here? Where?” He looked around the big empty space they were in, full of nothing._

_“Do you really want to wake up?” Stiles asked him. “It doesn’t hurt as much, here.”_

_“I - not really,” Theo decided._

_Scott nodded, sympathetically. “Sorry we didn’t believe you.”_

_“Yeah, they’re scary,” Stiles agreed._

_“You’ve seen them?”_

_“Of course,” Scott said, “We’re with them right now. All of us. It’s like you said, Theo. The underground hospital, the graveyard, the failures. All of it. You were right. It’s a nightmare.”_

_Stiles opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a scream._

\----

Waking up was like coming out of the deep end at the pool. His ears popped, his chest heaved, and he gasped for air, choking on the tube down his throat. His wrists and ankles were bound, restrained, and he was pinned like a butterfly with pins on a corkboard. Bright lights glared down at him, and Theo’s eyes watered automatically as panic rose in his chest. He gagged on the tube, forcing himself to turn his head and look around despite the pain and discomfort. 

Scott was lying, broken and limp on a table, face gray and slack with unconsciousness. The doctors crowded around another table past Scott, and Stiles’ screams still echoed, bouncing off the tall ceilings and the wide walls. Theo groaned around the tube in his throat, straining against his restraints, feeling the worn leather creak with his effort, not budging. 

Stiles gasped, voice catching wetly in his throat, and Theo felt panic clamping down on his lungs, making it hard to breathe, clamping down on his limbs, his whole body. It was hard to move, to _blink_ and Theo really hoped that it was just tears Stiles was choking on, and not blood, or - or the silver liquid that signaled a _failure_. 

“My dad’s a cop!” Stiles’ voice rasped, breath rattling audibly in his chest. “Three counts of kidnapping, assault on three minors, u-um child abuse-”

Scott jerked, a tool rattling on his table as he fought to consciousness, eyes blinking and widening as he came to with a sharp inhalation. One of the doctors, the Surgeon, turned to him, and Scott whined like a caged animal. “Get away from me!”

“Scotty?” Stiles gasped, “Stay away from him! Theo?! Scotty, check on Theo!”

Scott looked over at him, a relieved smile washing over his face for an instance. “He’s awake, Stiles.” Scott cried out in fear as the Surgeon pressed a scalpel into the thin flesh of his wrist, pushing a small tube into the incision. Scott’s head hit the table as he leaned back, mouth fixed open in a soundless scream as the tube was pushed in, the vein in his arm bruising and protruding. Theo’s fists clenched, heart pounding. It was all he could hear, his pulse thundering in his ears, and the soft groan of pressure of the tube sliding up his friend’s arm which was barely audible over Scott’s pained gasping screams whistling out his lungs.

Theo’s restraints groaned. Eyes still locked onto Scott’s, Scott’s gaze widening in shock and relief as one of Theo’s restraints gave way, leather cracking and crumbling to nothing. Theo thrashed, snapping the other cuff with little effort, closing golden eyes to pull the tube out of his throat with a gag and a coughing retch. He unfastened the cuffs on his ankles with a flick of his wrists, leaning over and falling off his table with an exhausted grunt. He coughed, choking and launching himself at the Surgeon in the same wheezing breath, wrapping his arms around a delicate throat, yanking the head back, and squeezing...

There was an excited burst of static as the other doctors realized what was going on, that one of their subjects was free. The Surgeon stumbled, arms coming up, hands fumbling at Theo’s death grip. The Surgeon doubled over quickly, attempting to throw Theo over his head and off him, but Theo clung on. His arms and legs constricted powerfully around the Surgeon’s body, riding out the struggle. The Pathologist was quicker than the Geneticist, rushing around Stiles’ table. Theo grit his teeth, feeling his canines elongate, cutting into his lower lip. His lip split, as his fingers scrabbled along the Surgeon’s neck, and the pain egged Theo on, fueling his adrenaline rush. Theo felt a burble of warmth over his hands, thicker and hotter than the thin line of copper snaking down his chin. The Surgeon fell to his knees. Startled, Theo let go and rolled under his table as the two of them came crashing down, coughing on his sore and aching throat.

He looked up at Scott as the doctors came around to his table, promising, “I’ll get us out of here.”

Scott’s eyes were wide, locked on his. “Your eyes are _gold_ , and your teeth-”

“Theo Raeken,” one doctor said, “We are trying to make them special, like you.”

“Unique, like you,” The Surgeon garbled.

“Make them feel as lucky, as you.”

“That’s messed up,” Stiles said weakly, and Theo crawled backwards under his table, coming up into a crouch, and peering over the metal edge at his friend. Stiles was colorless, hooked up to various machines with tubes and wires all over his arms and chest. “Theo is fine just the way he is!”

“I don’t want superpowers, this bad,” Scott joked weakly. 

Theo grit his too long teeth, howling, **“You hurt my friends!”** He grabbed the table, realizing in a moment that his nails were long and dark, fixed into claws, before he grabbed the table’s metal lip, shoving it forward with all his force, sending it careening into the doctors’ legs. Theo ran forward, sliding under the table and between two of the doctors, using his claws to slice one of Scott’s restraints. The Surgeon stumbled towards him, a hand holding the jagged edges of the gaping wound on his throat barely shut, other hand clutching a sharp cane, lunging forward with it, and Theo swiped at it with his claws, feeling the resulting clash rattle the bones up his arm, jostling his shoulder. 

Theo growled, lunging forward and swiping at the Surgeon’s leg, grinning viciously when the doctor was once again felled to his knees. He turned as the Geneticist was upon him, slamming him to the ground, a needle held precariously in the air.

Scott bowled into the Geneticist, “Get off of him!”

Theo scrambled to his feet, jumping on the Pathologist as he came towards him and Scott. “Get Stiles!” Theo roared, unsure if Scott could even understand him yelling through his too long canines. Theo’s claws dug into the Pathologist’s stomach, warm and fleshy, ripping downwards, and it was the doctor’s turn to scream instead. Theo’s pulse hummed, adrenaline singing in his veins, and he smirked as the Pathologist came down on his knees, now face-to-face with Theo. 

“Think I’m special?” Theo growled, swiping at the doctor, blood splattering on the floor. “Think I’m lucky?” Red spatter turned to a black pool as Theo viciously ripped at the fleshy gut of the Pathologist. “You made me this!”

“Theo!” Scott yelled, and Theo looked up, seeing Scott had Stiles sitting up on his own table, a few tubes removed from his arms, and a couple wires disconnected, but not all of them. Theo’s eyes widened, and he grunted as something speared him from behind, going through his stomach. He looked down, seeing the tip of the Surgeon’s cane protruding from his own fleshy gut. He coughed, watching his own black monster blood splatter on the ground, mixing with the Pathologist’s.

He turned, meeting the Surgeon’s stunned gaze from under the mask. Theo’s arm jolted forward, claws piercing the Surgeon’s chest, digging and digging. Blood sprayed and the Surgeon cried out, screaming as Theo ripped out his heart. 

The Surgeon fell forward with a hollow, wet, smack as he landed in the Pathologist’s guts. 

Silence fell, aside from three boys’ laboured breathing.

Another wet thud, and all three boys flinched as Theo dropped the heart. He looked at the blood staining his hands, his claws, smeared into his pajamas, and caked even into the toenails on his bare feet. He looked up, dread and shame and fear and anxiety pooling in his gut, and he locked gazes with Scott and Stiles, heart pounding, and he waited.

Stiles was half-slumped over, still hooked up to various machines with tubes and wire, but he looked at Theo, eyebrows drawn together in concern and pain. “Are you okay?”

Theo choked a harsh and disbelieving laugh, “Me?” Stiles never failed to surprise him.

Stiles nodded. 

Theo shook his head in disbelief. “I just... I just killed those guys and you ask me if I’m okay?!” He held up his bloodied hands, eyes burning and he felt a sob catch in his throat. “I just- that was worse than - I just -” He had enjoyed that, he realized with dawning horror. He had enjoyed doing what he had done, slaughtering those monsters. Slicing and dicing them, tearing them apart, and causing them a fraction of the pain they had put him through over months and months of nightmarish horrors.

Scott took a step away from Stiles, making sure he could sit up on his own, before rushing over to Theo, bare feet mindful of the blood and mess on the ground. His face pinched with distraught and concern for his friend. “Theo! Theo, it’s okay!” He grabbed him by the shoulders, and Theo felt himself shudder. “Hey, shhh, hey,” Scott said, pulling him close and hugging him. “You did the right thing. You didn’t have a choice. It was them or us.”

“You’re getting blood on your pajamas,” Theo protested weakly. “I don’t want to hurt you, my hands-”

“The claws are gone,” Stiles said from the other side of the room, “So are the teeth. Your eyes are normal now, too.”

“Oh,” Theo breathed, arms coming up to hug Scott back. 

After a moment, they both stepped away. Theo found himself shaking a bit, trembling. “Where’s the other one?”

“He ran,” Scott said quietly. “He’s gone.”

“Okay,” Theo nodded. He kept nodding, “Okay. Stiles, let’s get you unhooked there.”

Theo and Scott worked together, pulling out tubes, using some surgical scissors to cut the various wires still hooking Stiles up to unknown and probably dangerous machinery. Theo felt the hair on the back of his neck prick up as he heard footsteps coming towards them from somewhere in the maze of halls outside of this room. He still wasn’t entirely sure where they were or what this place was, the place he had been, for months, calling an underground hospital. He guessed maybe that wasn’t as untrue as he’d been beginning to think. Hospitals were where a lot of people came to die.

“Someone’s here,” he warned Scott and Stiles. Stiles grasped at both their sleeves, fists clenching in the bloodied fabric. 

“If you need to go-” he began.

“We are not leaving you!” Scott cut him off angrily, pissed Stiles would even suggest something like that.

The thought of the last doctor returning had Theo working faster, pulling at more wires and hating himself even more as Stiles twisted in pain, hissing and writhing. 

There were too many wires. The door opened, and a tall, dark-haired woman walked in, she took in the sight of them with wide, horrified, eyes, and her hands came up to cover her nose and mouth at the mess the dead doctors made on the floor. “Oh my,” she whispered.

Something about her made Theo want to cringe, run, and hide. She smelled... different. Powerful. 

“Oh, and you’re just children,” she said to herself, just under her breath, but Theo could hear her. He stepped in front of Scott and Stiles, turning his face up at her and regarding her with wary eyes. 

“And who’re you?” he demanded.

She gazed back at him, taking in the blood on his hands, his clothes, in his _hair_.

“I am Talia Hale, pup,” she said, “and I am the Alpha of this territory. Who are you?”

“Theo Raeken,” Theo said, nose crinkling, “and I am not a _pup_.”

“You’re only half correct,” Talia smiled, “Oh, my brother would get a kick out you, darling.” Her gaze rested on Scott and Stiles. “Let me help him.”

Theo snarled. “Stay away from them. Tell us what you want.”

Talia put her hands up. “Darling, I just want to help. You called me, you know.”

“I did not!”

“You did,” Talia countered. “You howled. I answered. You’re lucky it was me and not a straggler passing through our territory. Not all werewolves are as benevolent as my pack.”

“Werewolves?” Scott mouthed, and Stiles shrugged, breathing harshly through his pain. 

“Theo will tear you apart if you hurt us,” Stiles said quietly. “Plus, my dad’s the sheriff. Werewolf or not, he’ll shoot you, too.”

“And rightly so,” Talia responded. “But I’m not going to harm you. Just detach you from those... machines, and take you to a friend of mine who is a kind of doctor, if that’s alright?” She looked at Theo, questioning.

Theo looked to Scott and Talia’s eyebrows rose in pleasant surprise. Scott regarded Talia with caution and slight hesitancy before sighing, “Okay,” Scott agreed. “You can help, but I think we might be done with doctors for the night.” 

The boys glanced at the bodies on the floor, and Talia’s nostrils flared with agitation. She resisted the urge to kick one of the bodies. “What kind of sick-” she began to snarl angrily, stopping herself as all three boys flinched at her tone. She sighed heavily, pulling in a sharp but calming breath. “I’m sorry. My friend, his day job is as a veterinarian. But any problems my pack has, considering our species, we go to him first before anyone else. He’s trustworthy, and I can make sure he is especially careful.”

“It’ll be okay,” Stiles said, “I’ve got a good feeling about her.”

“We don’t know her,” Theo pointed out.

Scott looked torn. “I don’t know about you guys, but I really think we need an adult to help us in this situation, and I don’t have a phone on me to call my mom or Stiles’ dad.”

“Trust me on this,” Stiles insisted. “She’s good people.”

Theo levelled Talia with an assessing look, hackles still raised. “I don’t think I could take you on,” he admitted, leaning heavily backwards on Stiles’ table, trying to keep the cane still speared through his abdomen still. “But if you do anything, and I mean _anything_ to hurt them, I _will_ hurt you back twice as much.”

“Just as I would for my own pack,” Talia agreed readily. It was settled. She crossed the room in three quick strides.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry


End file.
